New college coffee bar to have students at heart as business
managers and customers

GOSHEN,
Ind. – By next fall, the beginnings of a campus entrepreneurial
venture will be fully brewing. In a unique partnership, Goshen College
Student Life and Business departments are offering students the opportunity
to manage a new coffee bar – the “central focus of the connector”
between Yoder, Kratz and Miller residence halls which is currently under
construction, according to Bill Born, vice president for student life.

So far, a start-up
team of students, juniors Jessica Berkey (LaGrange, Ind.), Tom
Stahly (Goshen) and Thushan Hemachandra (Sri Lanka), has been
selected to make the initial decisions with Associate Professor of
Accounting and faculty supervisor Michelle Horning, about how the
coffee bar will operate – from what kind of coffee to serve
to what hours it will be open, or how much they will charge for a
cup of joe.

The start-up
team’s plan is to be up and running by the first day of
classes in August 2004, but the coffee bar will evolve based on
their experiences and the feedback they receive from customers
– like all new businesses. “This is a chance to put
into practice what they have learned in classes,” Horning
said.

Horning wants
students to have the opportunity to experience the realities of
entrepreneurship and decision-making in a supportive environment.
The coffee shop will have a board of directors so that the students
have an entity to which they are responsible and will help shape
the direction. Though the coffee bar will technically be part of
Goshen College, it is being set up to be as independent as possible
“to enhance the educational experience of the students”
as they get a taste of “the realities of a small
business.”

Unlike more typical
entrepreneurial efforts though, the coffee bar will experience
leadership turnover as students are selected for the management
team for a semester or two at a time. And students will receive
academic credit for their labors.

Espresso
machines, grinders, display cases and other equipment have already been
purchased for the coffee bar, which will be located a few steps down from
the enclosed walkway between Kratz and Miller Halls, and connected to
a two-story student lounge.

The new space will
create “a late-night option for students with a variety of
menu options,” Born said, as well as the possibility for a
performance area. The new connector structure will also encompass
floor lounges, study rooms, a laundry room, kitchens and a game
area.

Born said the coffee
bar will be a convenient and fun gathering space for students and
will help “create a space to enhance community life”
that is easily accessible to the students living on campus,
particularly in the three largest GC residence halls.

Now coffee, and
entrepreneurial learning, will be flowing right outside their
doors.

Goshen College,
established in 1894, is a four-year residential Christian liberal
arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The
college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate
learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and
servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the
church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term
program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in
Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,”
Kaplan’s “Most Interesting Colleges” guide
and U.S.News & World Report’s “America’s Best
Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt
college.” Visit https://www.goshen.edu/.